BURNLEY/ROSSENDALE

A man who was formerly registered as a taxi driver in Rossendale has been prosecuted and fined after he was discovered working without a licence.

52 year old Mohammed Iqbal's hackney carriage licence had been revoked in Spetember 2018 by Rossendale Borough Council after it was discovered that he had failed to disclose a driving conviction which led to him being disqualified from driving.

Iqbal was then caught plying for hire in his Mercedes, which was registered as a taxi, in South Street, Bacup.

Iqbal, of Burnley Road, Todmorden, pleaded guilty at Burnley Magistrates’ Court and was fined £266 for the offence. He was also ordered to pay £296.30 in legal costs as well as £210 investigation costs.

Rossendale Council have come under scrutiny in the past regarding how licences are issued in the borough, however the Lancashire Telegraph reported that Councillor Steve Hughes, Rossendale Council's communities boss assured the public that the council insists on the highest standards from their cabbies, with safety being paramount.

www.halifaxcourier.co.uk
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Cowdenbeath

  Emergency services raced to Woodend Industrial Estate, Broad Street, on Tuesday morning after the blaze broke out at Cowdenbeath Taxi Service shortly before 8am.

The incident, which was still ongoing shortly before the Times went to print, saw seven fire appliances attend to bring the outbreak under control after the alarm was raised by members of the public.

Local residents on social media said that they had heard several explosions, causing their houses to shake, as a result of the incident, in which it is believed there have been no injuries.

In a post on their Facebook page, the firm said: "As most will know we have had a fire in our yard this morning.

"All our staff are ok and safe. We are still out working from a remote location and will continue to offer the same service as much as possible.

"Thanks for all the messages of concern."

The firm confirmed that they had three members of staff on site at the time of the incident and, in stressing that they would be looked after, thanked the public for their messages of concern.

On Twitter, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Lesley Laird said that she was awaiting an official report from the emergency services, wrote: "Thankfully, those near the explosion at the time managed to escape without injury, but I understand the damage to some units has been devastating."

Residents living close to the industrial estate, which contains a large number of businesses, posted their shock on social media.

One user said wrote: "The first explosion shook my house. Hope everyone is ok. It looks bad."

Another wrote: "I live at the back of it and the whole house shook."

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were unable to provide a further update on the incident before the Times went to print, but had confirmed they were tackling a fire "at a business premises in Woodend Industrial Estate, Cowdenbeath", adding: "Operations Control mobilised seven fire appliances to the scene after the alarm was raised at 7.59am."

https://www.centralfifetimes.com/news/17822030.cowdenbeath-company-39-s-blow/
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 HARROGATE

Mr Ibrarh Khan (29) of Carr Bottom Avenue, Bradford has been prosecuted by Harrogate Borough Council for using a licensed private hire vehicle without valid insurance, plying for hire without a hackney carriage licence and carrying more passengers than is lawful.

Mr Khan voluntarily surrendered his dual driver’s taxi licence prior to this successful prosecution.

Mr Khan attended Harrogate Magistrates Court last month (Tuesday 23 July) and pleaded guilty to all three offences and received eight penalty points for driving without insurance, along with a fine of £290. Costs of £400 were awarded to the borough council along with a victim surcharge of £30.

Mr Khan was reported to the council after being seen loading five passengers into his private hire vehicle on Kings Road, Harrogate in January. The vehicle was only manufactured and licensed to carry four passengers.

The council investigated the report and also found that Mr Khan was plying for hire without a hackney carriage licence and therefore invalidating his insurance which constituted a separate offence.

www.harrogate-news.co.uk 
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 LIVERPOOL/ISTANBUL

 Liverpool FC fans travelling to Istanbul are being warned of "taxi scams" in Istanbul ahead of the UEFA Super Cup next week.

The Reds will face Chelsea FC at Beşiktaş Park on Wednesday, August 14 - and the important guidance has been issued for fans travelling over.

One of the main warnings included in the travel advice concerns taxi drivers ripping off passengers in Istanbul amid fears fans could be stung by high prices.

The guidance says: "There have been reports of taxi drivers trying to overcharge passengers in Istanbul. To reduce the risk of this happening, only use licensed taxi companies and ask the driver to switch the meter on at the beginning of your journey."

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk 
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 LEEDS

You could soon be on camera every time you take a taxi trip in Leeds, as plans to install CCTV in every taxi and private hire vehicle in the city are being explored.

Leeds City Council wants to set up a working group to figure out whether setting up and maintaining CCTV equipment in all the city's taxis would be practical.

Under the current system, the council encourages drivers to install cameras in their vehicles and offers to subsidise the cost of installation (up to £250) but it cannot make them do it.

Leeds City Council states that mandatory CCTV systems introduced by other councils have had 'positive' results for drivers and passengers and that they could 'increase the level of reporting of sexual offences' in Leeds.

But the council also accepts there are privacy and data protection concerns and the scheme could be very expensive, as it may have to continue subsidising installations costs.

The plans are part of a wider project, which looks to align the taxi policies of all councils in West Yorkshire and York.

They want to set the same rules on CCTV in vehicles, driver training, previous convictions policies and vehicle specifications.

www.leeds-live.co.uk 
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 BRUSSELS

Passengers wishing to hail a taxi ride from Brussels Airport to the city centre will have to pay one of the highest fares per kilometre in Europe, a new industry report showed.

At 105 euro per ride, Milan’s Bergamo topped the list of Europe’s top 50 busiest airports, with London’s Stanstead and Luton airports following closely behind, at 104 and 99 euro per ride, respectively.

At 45 euro per ride, a taxi trip from Brussels Airport falls in line with the European average (40 euro per ride) and appears to be significantly cheaper than taxi fares at Milan or London, the report found.

But at three euro per kilometre, taxi fares from Brussels airport significantly more expensive than those at the aforementioned airports, which fall out of the top ten most expensive ones in the price-per-kilometre ranking.

Only five airports in the ranking have more expensive fares per kilometre than Brussels Airport, with the most expensive ones being Switzerland’s Geneva and Zurich airports, at 6 and 5.25 euro per kilometre each.

The report also found that a growing number of airports in Europe were offering fixed prices for rides into the city, including Milan Malpensa Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport or Madrid

The Brussels Times
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Seven Somerset taxi drivers have had their licences revoked after failing to complete proper background checks.

Anyone wishing to drive a taxi, Hackney carriage or operate a private hire service must complete an interim check with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), to flag up any criminal convictions or other details which make them unfit to serve the public.

A Sedgemoor District Council licensing panel has decided to revoke the licence of seven drivers after they failed to complete these checks or respond to multiple attempts by officers to contact them.

Several of the drivers have already moved away from the area - and one has left the UK altogether.

The drivers were named in the agenda papers for the council's licensing panel, which met in Bridgwater on Tuesday morning (August 6).

None of the drivers attended the hearing in person, and no representations were made on their behalf, besides comments by the council's licensing officers.

www.somersetlive.co.uk